


No Christmas for Stiles

by Ashbright



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: First Kiss, First Time, Food, Games, Hanukkah, Holiday Fic Exchange, Jewish Holidays, M/M, Mistletoe, Party, Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-04
Updated: 2014-02-04
Packaged: 2018-01-11 04:06:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1168462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashbright/pseuds/Ashbright
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek uses a Holiday celebration to show Stiles how he feels.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Christmas for Stiles

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Howlforhoechlin](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Howlforhoechlin).



> Written for the Teen Wolf Holiday Exchange to fill this prompt: Stiles is under appreciated and Derek uses Christmas to show Stiles that he has noticed what he does for the pack and how grateful he is.
> 
> Notes: Thanks to Conzieu for the super-speedy beta. All remaining mistakes are mine.

                                                                                             **No Christmas for Stiles**

 

“Derek! Come on in.”  The sheriff had known all about werewolves for a while now and since then had always been cordial towards Derek.  “Stiles just got up.  He’s in the shower.  D’you wanna cup of coffee while you wait?”

“Yes, thank-you.  Black please.” John disappeared in the kitchen and returned almost right away.  He handed Derek a steaming Batman mug and sat down in the recliner.  Derek noticed the newspaper and another cup of coffee on the table.  John must have been reading the news when he rang the bell.   He was also wearing his uniform, and it looked freshly ironed.  He was obviously about to go to work.

They sipped in companionable silence.  Derek couldn’t help but notice that though it was already December 23rd, the house was completely void of any signs of the impending holiday.

“You waited for Stiles to decorate, then?” he guessed.  He figured Stiles was the type to go hog wild for Christmas and he’d just returned from college the night before.

John looked confused for a moment, then said, “Ha!   No.  We don’t do Christmas.  We…” 

He was cut off by the ringing of his phone.  “Excuse me,” he said, as he picked it up.  “Sheriff Stilinsky...  Hey, Becky.” 

John mouthed “Work” to Derek and got up to walk to the kitchen for privacy, though of course Derek would still hear everything he said.

“Yeah.  I can come in early, no problem…” 

Derek couldn’t make out what was said next at the other end, but John answered,  “No, no, there’s no mistake.  I always take the double shift on the 24th.  Yeah, from 5:00pm Sunday to 5:00pm Monday…  Nah, it’s usually really quiet.  Just a couple of drunk and disorderly…  I don’t mind.  It’s Christmas.  The guys should get to be with their family… Yeah, see you in ten.”

He hung up and picked up his keys and wallet.  “Sorry, Derek.  I’m sure Stiles won’t be long.  Tell him I got called in early, OK?”

“Sure.”

“See you later.”

Wow.  Derek wondered if the Stilinsky men had stopped celebrating Christmas after Stiles’s mom had died.  The first Christmas after the fire, Laura had surprised him with a week in Florida, and they’d spent the day sitting in a hot tub in the sun at a small beach bungalow in the Keys, with as few reminders of the season as possible.  Neither of them could have stomached it any other way.  Talia Hale’s Yuletide celebrations had been legendary, with the house full of people and decorations, and all kinds of family traditions.

This year, like last year, Derek was spending Christmas day at Peter’s with Peter’s wife Sarah and their new baby.  Cora would be there too, of course.  She was flying in from Bryn Mawr the 24th in the morning and staying with them for a week.  Shane and Cecil, Peter’s other Betas, would be there too, with Cecil’s human wife Marcie and their kids.  Derek was looking forward to it.  Sarah had a way of creating harmony in everything she touched. Peter was a better man, and a better Alpha as well, for having met her.

He figure Stiles would be at the McCalls with the rest of Scott’s pack on Monday, but it seemed he would be alone Christmas eve, as he must have been for years apparently.  Maybe Derek could change that?  Making a quick decision, he left the material he’d brought from Deaton on the coffee table with a note. (He had only used it as an excuse for coming over and spending some time alone with Stiles, anyway.). 

_“Welcome home._

_This is from Deaton.  Your Dad was called in early._

_I’ll see you this afternoon at Lydia’s._

_Derek.”_

The two Beacon Hills packs were meeting at her house, as they did about once a month. Lydia, as a Banchee, was a neutral figure in the unusual dual pack territory, respected by both Alphas.  Everyone would be there.  Derek wouldn’t get any one on one time with Stiles but maybe that was for the best.  Less chances to embarrass himself with his stupid feelings.

He stopped at the Christmas-tree lot.  This late in the game, they only had either puny little trees or gigantic ones left.  Well, his new loft had plenty of headroom.  He bought a 10-foot balsam fir.  It smelled fabulous.

It was neatly wound up with cord, but it still took a while to wrap it in the blanket from his trunk and tie it to the roof of the Camaro.  Thank God he wasn’t going to far. 

He first brought up the large size tree holder he’d gotten from the salesman and set that up before wrestling the tree up six flights of stairs, because of course it wouldn’t fit in the elevator.  Sometimes, werewolf strength came in handy for the oddest reasons.

He cut about a half a inch from the bottom of the bare trunk and set it with hot water in the holder, as recommended by the guy at the lot.  He made sure it was straight, and cut off the cord holding the tree together.

He backed away and admired his work.  It looked great.  The tree was huge and beautiful and fabulously fragrant.

“Dude!  Now that’s what I call a tree!” said Stiles, from the front door, which Derek had neglected to go back and close after walking in with his burden.  Stiles was leaning on the jamb with a huge grin, and Derek was glad Stiles only had human hearing, because his heart skipped a beat, then thumped much to fast.  To him, it seemed Stiles looked better every time he saw him, tall, lean, at ease in his own skin.  Derek had to work to restrain himself to a slight smile, because he wanted to go and hug the hell out of him, then potentially throw him over his shoulder, carry him to his bed and ravish him.

“Got the stuff you left at my house.  Thanks.”  Stiles scratched the back of his neck and looked at Derek.   
“I figured we could grab lunch before heading out to Lydia’s? Or maybe we can order take out if you’re going to trim this bad boy.”

Warmth spread in Derek’s breast.  It seemed as if Stiles wanted to spend some time alone with him as well.  “Nah.  Not yet.  I have to buy the decorations.”  He smiled at Stiles teasingly.  “I suppose you want to got to the diner?”

“Cuuurly Friiies!  I neeed me some, dude!”

Derek chuckled.  “Yeah.  I figured…”

They were both eating burgers and fries when Derek brought up his idea.  “Since you, and Cora and Allison are all going to be in town, I thought I’d have a little party, you know, with Isaac, Danny and Lydia.  The twins.  And Jackson, too.  He is coming to visit, getting in Sunday Morning.”

Stiles smiled.  “The old gang.  It sounds… really good, actually.  When are you thinking?”

“Christmas eve?  What do you think?  Have you got plans?”

“Me?  Nah.  We don’t do Christmas.  We’re Jewish.  Christmas eve will actually be the last night of Hanukah, but that’s not that big a deal, you know.  Yeah, Christmas eve would be cool.  My dad’s working, and most people only do stuff on Christmas day, so it’s usually boring.  This’ll be fun.”

Well, so much for doing something special for Stiles ‘for Christmas’…  Still, Stiles did seem pretty happy at the idea of getting together.  Derek had hoped to make it something special _for him_ , but…  He let it go for now and concentrated on enjoying the man’s company.  He’d gotten him to himself for a while after all and it was great.  Though they only texted each other occasionally, when they got back together it was always as if no time had passed.  Except maybe that Derek was a little bit more in love with Stiles every time.

The afternoon meeting at Lydia’s was busy with pack business.  The agenda was pretty routine.  They coordinated joint training sessions, discussed the relations with the neighboring packs and the Hunters (who never quite believed two packs could share a territory without it being an opportunity to divide and conquer), and reviewed emergency procedures.  Under attack, the packs always presented a united front, led by Scott and Peter, Lydia acting as a coordinator.  They formed an awesome coalition.  They also shared an emissary, Deaton, and would continue to until Stiles finished both his academic and his esoteric education.

That evening, Derek texted invitations to his party to everyone, then got out his laptop. Sitting under the tree, he researched Hanukah and it’s traditions.

 ~o~

Stiles checked himself in the mirror one last time before heading out to pick up Lydia. Jeans, a long sleeve T, and a bit of gel in his hair.  The first two were tight enough to showcase his lean but toned body, and the last to give him a devil-may-care look, which he hoped was sexy.  Perhaps today would be the day Derek saw the man he had become, not just the teen he used to be.

It was a quick drive to Lydia’s.  Stiles got out of the Jeep, because though he may no longer think Lydia had hung the moon, she was still Lydia, and you just did not honk your horn for Goddesses.  You escorted them to your car, showing them the respect due to their perfection.  Or in this case, their mother let you in and you cooled your heels for forty minutes as they made themselves even more perfect than usual.

Stiles was not too surprised by that development.  He was no fool.  It was no coincidence that a month after Lydia had (finally!) broken up with Aiden (the guy who had smiled after holding Boyd while Derek’s claws were used to murder him!), Jackson would choose to visit Beacon Hills for the first time in five years…

When she finally appeared, Lydia looked breathtaking, in some asymmetric bronze number that was absolutely perfect on her, showing off a smooth white shoulder and quite a bit of leg.

“Great dress, Lydia,” commented Stiles.

She gave him a radiant smile and spun, to give him the full view.  “What, this old thing?” she quipped.

And who in the world owned full-length velvet lined cashmere capes, these days?  Lydia, that was who, apparently.  Stiles felt he should have been driving a limo, or perhaps a horse drawn pumpkin shaped carriage instead of a Jeep, but Lydia seemed happy enough with his baby.

The door to Derek’s loft was opened by a cheerful Cora, who held a glass of champagne in her hand.

“Finally!  My, don’t you guys look fine.”

She looked gorgeous and festive herself, in a midnight blue mini-dress.  The loft was gorgeously decorated, all in silver and blue.

“Wow!” said Lydia.  “Your Christmas tree looks amazing!”, which considering Lydia’s tastes was quite a compliment.

“Sweetheart,” said Cora, making the girls grin at the memory of their early contentious relationship,  “That is NOT a Christmas tree.  Apparently,” she rolled her eyes, “it’s a Hanukah bush.”

Lydia looked at her with raised eyebrows, but Cora shrugged, as if she was just as mystified as Lydia was.

Stiles looked at the magnificent tree and noticed the blue and silver stars of David and the silver dreidels that hung amongst the more traditional balls and bows, silver beads and blue gauzy ribbon.

 He knew he was the only Jew in attendance and after his conversation with Derek, he was quite sure this was meant for him.  Why would Derek go through all this trouble?  Apparently, just to make Stiles happy… And that made joy and hope suddenly blossomed in his chest.  He looked for Derek and found his soft and warm gaze waiting for his reaction.  Stiles's insides sang a little song of happiness which showed as he smiled, and Derek smiled back.  They just stood there for a moment, in perfect understanding.

“Dude!  You have to try these!  They’re as good as the ones your mom used to make!” said Scott, before stuffing a whole latke covered in sour cream in his mouth.  Stiles laughed and stole a latke off of his plate.

“Get your own, man!” cried Scott, putting the plate out of Stiles's reach.  The latke was hot, crispy, salty and delicious and it did taste just like his mom’s.  There was a platter with a few of them left on the bar between the kitchen and the rest of the loft, and Allison just dumped a whole new batch on top.  Isaac and the twins burned their fingers grabbing them right away, mocked by Allison.  “You guys are eating them faster than I can make them!”

“But they’re so good,” explained Jackson who'd grabbed one too, through a mouthfull.

“Jackson! Oh my God!  I never thought I’d say this, but it’s really good to see you!” said Stiles.

Jackson, his mouth finally empty, smirked at Stiles.  The douche bag was even more handsome than before.  “Yeah, well…  I guess I could say the same.”  Then his eyes rounded and he swallowed hard. Following his gaze, Stile realized he had just seen Lydia, in all her glory.  Jackson walked towards her as if pulled by a magnet, and his smirk turned into a full on, beautiful smile.  “ Hey Lydia…”

“Jackson.”  As usual, Lydia was as cool as a cucumber, an eyebrow slightly raised.  She gave her former boyfriend a small smile, and said casually, “It’s good to see you.  Are you in town for long?”

Stiles let them at it, going for a helping of Latkes.

“Hey, Allison.  These are fabulous!”

“It’s all Derek’s doing.  He did the hard part, I’m just cooking them.”  She flashed her dimples at him.  “How are you, Stiles?”

“I’m great.  You?”

“Really good, thanks.  I think I did great on all my finals and I don’t have to go back ‘till February first, so I’m a happy, happy girl.”

“February first?  You bum!  I only get two and a half weeks!”

“Semester system, remember?  How is UCLA treating you?”

“Good.  I’m almost there.  Between the AP classes, the stuff I tested out of and summer school, I’ll be done in June.”

“Oh, my God.  That’s awesome!  Then what?”

“A dual master in criminal justice and psychology at Sacramento State, I think.  Closer to home.  So I can get back on the weekends.”

“That’s nice.  I bet your Dad will like that.  And you can commute with Scott!  The vet school is real close.  You guys will only be like twenty minutes from each other!”

“I know!  We’ve talked about maybe rooming together.  You know, until you guys get married or something.”

She grined at him.  “Well, since I’ve changed my major, I won’t be done for a couple of years, so I wouldn’t hold my breath for a quick wedding.”

She dumped the last of the Latkes on the platter, and Isaac just picked it up and walked away.  “Hey”, said Stiles, “Where are you going with these!”

“Coffee table.  We’re playing that spinning top game and it’s serious money, man.  We can’t take time off to get up and replenish our stash!”

There was a victorious shout from Cora and moans from everyone else when she swept all the coins at the center of the table towards herself.

Stiles cracked up.  “These are chocolate coins, Isaac…”

“As I said, man:  Serious Money!  And see, I turn my back for two second and the she devil grabs it all!”

Aside from Lydia, who was elegantly sitting on the leather couch, a glass of champagne in her hand, they were all sitting on the floor around the coffee table, playing a raging game of Dreidel.  Cora and Jackson had the biggest piles of golden coins, but Derek had stacked his up like an old miser counting his savings and it looked more impressive.  Ethan was four coins from being broke, as was Danny.  Lucky in love…  They were still laughing though, having a good time.

“Allison!” Aiden called out, getting up. “Come play!  I’ll cook the doughnuts!”

“Soofganiyots,” corrected Stiles and Derek at the same time.  Cora did another perfect Hale eyeroll, and Aiden said, “Yeah.  Those.”

Stiles smiled at Derek.  “I can’t believe you made soofganyiots.”  Making them was a true labor of love: They took forever.

Derek shrugged, but smiled back, looking pleased with himself.

“You can take my place and have my money,” said Aiden to Allison, who came out of the kitchen wearing a cute beaded party dress which had been hiding under the “Kiss the cook” apron she’d been sporting.

“How generous!”  She groused.  He had all of seven coins left.

“You can start fresh and sit with me,” said Scott, waving a full sac of coins at her and tapping on his lap.

“A much better offer,” she agreed.

“I’ll take Aiden’s spot,” said Stiles, who sat down and proceeded to eat two of the four coins.  “Hand me a bag, Scott.”

Scott handed him a new sac of coins too, but commented, “You're not suppose to eat your money, moron.”

“I’m not eating _my_ money, I eating _Aiden_ ’s money,” corrected Stiles.

“Oh, yeah!  It’s alright then,” said Scott, grabbing one of Aiden coin for himself, removing the foil wrap, and popping it in his mouth. Isaac, Derek,  Jackson and Ethan stole the last four, laughing.

“Did you guys just eat all my money?  You suck!” said Aiden from the kitchen.

Ethan popped his unwrapped coin in Danny’s mouth, and said, “I did not eat any of your money, man, no way.  I’d never do that to my brother!”

Then he proceeded to kiss Danny and steal some of the chocolate back.

All the latkes were gone by the time Aiden brought the first batch of doughnuts over, and they all stuffed themselves, starting to eat some of their money as well. They kept playing the simple game, laughing, and trying to cheat.  It was a blast. 

Once it was fully dark, Derek brought out some inexpensive brass menorahs and a few boxes of colorful Hanukah candles.  There were enough for each of them, and after setting the candles in place, they each set their menorah in front of one of the loft’s many windows.  Stiles demonstrated how to light them, and sung a quick blessing.

They turned off the lights and relaxing on the couches and on the big cushions on the rug, enjoyed the glow of the candles and the white lights in the “Hanukah bush”, chatting.

Derek and Stiles were next to each other in the love seat, their shoulders and knees touching.  Their hands were next to each other and their knuckles might have touched.  Their fingers might even have interlaced.

A while later, Scott stretched, and they all chuckled when his back popped loudly.  “Old man!” teased Isaac.

“Hey!  Watch who you’re calling old!” he protested.  “I got to go pick up my Mom at the hospital,” he said as he got up with a sigh.

Allison and Isaac were staying with him at his mother’s house, so they got up as well, turned on a lamp and went to collect their coats and scarves from Derek’s bed.

“Do you have a car, Jackson?” asked Lydia, conversationally.

“Yeah.  A rental,” answered Jackson, as if it was a sin for him to drive anything but his own expensive wheels.

“Well, it can’t be any worse than Stiles Jeep…”

“Hey!  Show some respect!” protested Stiles.

“…  Could you give me a ride home?” Lydia continued, ignoring him.

In his eagerness to get up, Jackson almost tripped himself, as he said, “Yeah…Yeah, I could do that.”

“Mine is the black cape with the velvet lining,” Lydia added, waving her hand in the direction of Derek's bedroom, smiling gently at him.

Jackson was already on his way to retrieve it.  The more things changed, the more they stayed the same…

“Well, I guess we’ll head out too,” said Danny.  He and the twins got moving.

“Can you drop me at Peter’s?” asked Cora.

“Sure, no problem,” said Danny.

Derek walked all of them to the door, but Stiles didn’t move.  He had nowhere to go and actually, he was exactly where he wanted to be.

‘Twas awesome, Derek,” said Scott.  “We should do this every year.”

“Maybe we will,” said Derek.

After multiples good byes and holiday wishes, the door finally closed.  Derek turned the light back off before rejoining Stiles on the couch.

“It was awesome,” Stiles told Derek.  “One of the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me,” he added with a smile.

“What makes you think it was for you?” asked Derek, and Stiles could hear the smile in his voice.  He did not even bother answering.

“I brought you a Hanukah gift,” Stiles said instead.

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah.”  He removed a small bag from the breast pocket of his T and took a small branch of Mistletoe with a silver ribbon tied around its stem out of it.

“Are you really giving a _werewolf_ mistletoe as a gift?” asked Derek, smirking.

“Nope.  Your gift is _under_ the mistletoe,” answered Stiles and he boldly held the small branch over his head.  He had planned on hanging it at the beginning of the party and hoping for the best, but he was pretty sure of how it would be received, now.

“Yeah?” asked Derek, and he was smiling a really great smile.

“Yeah, but I should warn you about this gift,” answered Stiles. “There are no exchanges, and no returns.”

“Why would I care about that,” answered Derek in a low voice, getting closer and closer.  “when it’s what I’ve always wanted?”

“Really?”  Stiles had been kinda hoping that was what this party meant, but…

Derek’s answer to that was to kiss him, and he did seem very eager and very happy with his gift. 

Making out by candle light was pretty darn good.  Making out with Derek _was_ pretty much what Stiles had always wanted, so… yeah.  Awesome.  Plus, damn.  Derek was good at it.

“I think I may have a gift for you, too,” said Derek, laughter in his voice.

“Really?” asked Stiles.

Derek took one of Stiles hands and placed it where his very hard dick was making an impressive bulge in his jeans.

“Oh!” said Stiles, “Cool!  You got me the jumbo size!” and he cracked up.

“All right,” said Derek, laughing.  “I think we’re done with the gifts metaphors.”

“Not until I get to unwrap mine,” said Stiles.

“That can be arranged,” answered Derek, “but I have a bedroom over there. Perhaps we should relocate?”

“This is a comfortable couch.”

“Yeah.  But first of all, I have a king size bed.  Second, it’s closer to the shower, and finally, there’s a tube a lube on the nightstand.”  He kissed Stiles again, with intent, and whispered against his ear, “And after a few rounds, I kinda like to go to sleep.”

“Hmm…” commented Stiles.  “Does that mean I can stay overnight?” he asked, hopefully, getting up from the couch.

“I even know how you like your coffee…” Derek confided in his neck as they walked to the bedroom.

“You _are_ the man for me,” joked Stiles.

Derek turned to face him.  He caressed the line of Stile’s jaw with the back of his fingers.  “I want to be,” he said, seriously.  “And I’ve felt this way for a long time.”

Stiles smiled back at him.  “Derek, I’ve been in love with you pretty much since I was seventeen…  But I was too young then, you know?”

“And I was too damaged…” said Derek, looking down.  Then he raised his eyes to meet Stiles’s.  “But the time is right for me, now.”

“And I’ve been around enough to know what it is I really want, and... that would definitely be you.”

If Stiles hadn’t been sure already, Derek’s next kiss would have definitely convinced him. 

“So, you want to get naked?” Stiles asked.

“I think it would be best for what I have in mind,” answered Derek, making quick work of his own clothes.

Stiles caught up with him, and soon they both stood completely bare, looking their fill.  It was quite obvious they both liked what they saw.

“I want to do so many things to you, I don’t fucking know where to start,” said Derek, his eyes shining.

Stiles lay down on the bed, folded his legs and let his knees fall open. 

“Yeah,” said Derek, licking his lips.  “Yeah, I can work with that…”

**Author's Note:**

> I actually submitted the wrong copy to the fest, the un-betaed one, and the mods didn't call me on all the mistakes, so I didn't realize it until it had been posted for a while. I felt really awful about it, both for Howlforhoechlin, who got a messy gift, and for Conzieu who'd done a great job in a couple hours for nothing... Sorry you guys!


End file.
